Pentagon Spending Flexibility at Stake in Border Wall Fight

President Trump’s emergency declaration to build a border wall could end an informal agreement between Congress and the Pentagon permitting it to shift billions of dollars within its budget, Roll Call reported last week.
House Democrats are expected to try to end DOD’s ability to easily move funds among various Pentagon accounts by reasserting their “power of the purse” authority.
If restricted, the Pentagon could lose its ability to transfer up to $4 billion of its base budget and an additional $2 billion in warfighting funds that are not subject to fiscal year spending limits.
The accounts comprise less than 1 percent of the defense budget but provide DOD the flexibility to respond to unanticipated funding crises.
DOD recently used reprogrammed funds for disaster aid, including $600 million for Hurricane Florence damage to North Carolina’s Camp Lejeune, and $200 million for Hurricane Michael damage to Florida’s Tyndall Air Force Base, as ADC has reported.